We Will Never Forget
by Agent Sandra Cartrip
Summary: "I still remember it like it was yesterday...all those people wailing and dying in front of me." Lithuania visits America on the anniversary of 9/11 and offers him some support. [Not slash. Rated T just to be safe, as this is a sensitive topic]


**Hi everyone, I am back with a new Hetalia story! This is my first non-x-reader story so I apologise if this isn't great. **

**Before we advance, I just want to warn people that this story does involve/mention the events of 9/11. I just want to clarify that this IS NOT meant to make light of what happened. I realise this topic still may be sensitive to a lot of people, so bear in mind this is meant to be a more serious style of Hetafic. **

**I will admit straight-out this probably isn't my best work so I apologise if the characters are too OOC. Also this is written in Lithuania's point of view. I hope you still enjoy.**

_11 September 2019_

It was on this particular day I found myself journeying across oceans to a certain someone's place. Someone who had played a part in my liberation from being a Soviet territory back in the eighties and nineties. Someone who I knew would be struggling with unwanted memories today. And before I knew it, I found myself once again standing in front of his place.

I had to admit, I was rather amazed at how nice America's house was. I had always expected it to be some sort of New York styled flat, but he actually had a rather nice colonial home. And it was huge, too. But considering how America is a much larger nation than most of us, I shouldn't be too surprised. I smiled a bit as I remembered coming here to help America clean out his storage room a few years beforehand.

I knocked on the door. "America? Are you home?"

No one answered. I tried the doorbell, but again, no luck. I chuckled. He was probably playing his video games too loudly to hear me. Out of desperation I grabbed the doorknob. To my surprise the house was unlocked. Slowly I made my way in.

Usually when I walked into America's house, I was greeted by the sound of his loud video games, usually horror or action games like Call of Duty or Mortal Kombat, or some kind of Marvel or DC game. But that wasn't the case today. To my surprise, it was weirdly quiet except for the sound of what I assumed to be the television coming from the living room. But when I glanced in, America wasn't there. I also noticed that instead of the typical action or horror film, the television was off. Rather unusual.

"America?" I called, glancing around for him. "Are you here?"

There was no answer, so I decided to venture further. I checked most of the rooms but there was no sign of him. I called for him again. Still no sign of him. I ventured back downstairs.

"America? Are you home?"

From around the corner I then saw the young country appear, rubbing his face. His hair was messy and uncombed, his shirt collar unbuttoned and his tie loose. He looked as though he had just got out of bed, but when he lifted his face to look at me, I saw his eyes were red-rimmed, as though he had been crying.

"America? Are you all right?" I asked.

"What? Oh, I'm fine! Don't worry!" he tried to reassure me. He smiled at me, like he always did, but for once it seemed forced. Usually he was quite cheery and carefree, and admittedly, a little stupid at times, but today, he looked like he had been through Hell and back.

"Are you sure?" I asked him, "I….we….haven't seen you all day. England and Canada in particular were asking about you."

"Yeah…...yeah…..I'm fine, don't worry." he said, taking off his glasses to wipe his eyes. It was then I realised there were tears forming in the corners of his tired eyes.

I shifted uncomfortably, as I suddenly felt awkward and unsure what to say. "Um….would you….would you like me to make some coffee? And why don't we sit outside? I think it's pretty nice out."

"Uh, yeah, sure dude!" he said, seeming to perk up a bit. "That actually sounds good. Meet you outside."

I nodded and made my way into the kitchen and within a few minutes, had two mugs in one hand and a pot of coffee in the other. Once outside, I poured one for myself and another for America, then sat on the bench beside him.

"Having rough memories?" I asked quietly. I wondered if I should have even asked that, as it seemed very obvious as to what was troubling him, but I couldn't help myself.

"Yeah," he replied, his voice surprisingly quiet. "It's hard to believe we had that terror attack all those years ago. It just…..it still bothers me."

"I understand," I sympathised. "I still have vivid memories of my days in the Soviet Union when I lived with Russia, although I know that's not quite the same as what you went through."

It had been only 18 years ago since the fateful day-the one that had changed the nation forever. I knew America struggled with it; every 11 September he seemed to isolate himself, perhaps because the memories of that day were so horrible and still so vivid. And today it was no different.

I felt for him honestly. I really did. I knew he had been through a lot. There was the war with England for his independence in the 1770s; there was the time England fought him again in 1812 (though interestingly enough, I noticed he doesn't talk much about that one, but Canada seems to remember it quite well); there was the civil war that nearly drove his country apart; the Great War, which he initially tried to stay out of; World War II, when Japan attacked Pearl Harbour; the Korean war when he fought to help liberate Korea from his dangerously powerful older brother, whom I might also mention was supported by Russia; the war with Vietnam, which pretty much none of his people supported; and now, the war against the terrorists that attacked his country. It's still ongoing, as far as I know. I knew the memories of this day still haunted him, much like my days as a country under the Soviet Union still haunt me; I can still remember the day Russia took me captive like it was yesterday. I can still see that damn face of his as he pulled me away from Poland on that cold winter night….

"I just…..I just never thought it would happen to me," he confessed. "I thought….I thought terrorism was something that happened to other people….other countries….not to me….but when that attack happened…..I realised just how vulnerable I was." He lowered his head, squinting his eyes shut. "The truth is, I just feel so guilty about it….like I feel responsible somehow and let this happen to my people. All I could do was stand there and watch as the Twin Towers burned to the ground….and then I heard the Pentagon was attacked….I still remember it like it was yesterday...all those people wailing and dying in front of me….and…..and…." His voice suddenly broke as he buried his face in his hands. "I….I let them down…..it's my fault they all died…."

I put my hand on his shoulder. "You didn't, America. It was not your fault. No one could have predicted what was going to happen. There was nothing you could have done to stop it. We all thought we were safe. That day changed everything. But you're not the only one this has happened to. Look at France, England, Germany, Belgium... It happened to them and many others, and none of them ever saw it coming. You're not the only one, America. But it's in the past now. We can move on. But it's also something we will never forget."

"I don't know dude...it's like every year when this day comes around, I get upset." he confessed.

"It was traumatic. It stays on your mind. It literally changed the world and you forever." I explained.

America's head sank, his thumb running along the handle of the coffee cup in his hand. "The truth is, I still feel responsible for the deaths of all those people that day. Like…..why couldn't I have saved them? I'm supposed to be the hero. A hero doesn't just stand there and let his people die like that. We're supposed to defeat the bad guy, not….stand there….and…..watch….thousands of people…..die like that."

"It's hard for us nations to watch our people die," I sympathised. "There is nothing harder for us than to watch our people suffer…..I watched millions of my people suffer and even die under the brutal Soviet regime and there was nothing I could do about it. But America, as tragic and horrible as these things are, they happen. You needn't blame yourself. No one can hold you responsible for what happened. Maybe you couldn't play the hero and save everyone. But you stuck by your people despite what happened and did everything you could to help save them. You kept the rest of your country safe. You showed those terrorists that you were capable of retaliation. You said it yourself, you were going to put a boot in their ass, or something like that."

At this I noticed a small smile twitch at the corner of the young nation's mouth. "Yeah….I did, didn't I?" he winked. He then sighed. "Look Lithuania…..I know that's all in the past….I try not to let it bug me but like…..every time this one day of the year comes around, I just get all these flashbacks and memories…..heh….I'd sooner try cleaning out my storage room again and going through all those painful old memories if it meant never having to think about 9/11 again."

"Oh believe me, there are so many ugly things I would gladly do so I wouldn't have to mull over my memories of being a Soviet territory," I confided, "but as cliche as it sounds, we just have to move on and think of the future. But look at the bright side, there hasn't really been another major attack since then. I think that's pretty lucky. I know your country's got problems but I'd say you're holding together pretty well. My economy is still struggling, you know."

The blonde chuckled. "Heh, yeah, that's true. I know I'm excited for this weekend. My new totally awesome Marvel video game is supposed to show up! I can't wait to challenge England and Canada to a game, even though Britain dude will probably say no. He doesn't share my superhero and video game passion." He sighed. "I'm sorry Lithuania ...I just feel as though I'm becoming a sentimental old dude or something…."

I smiled slightly at him. "Nah, you're not," I said with a chuckle. "You're just growing up, becoming an adult. You start to notice things more, good and bad. It's just part of being a country."

America nodded. There was a moment of silence as he sipped his coffee.

"Hey, Lithuania?"

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Thanks for the coffee."

"Oh. No problem." I gushed. "I know you appreciated it when I made you some when you were cleaning out your storage room. Thought you could use some now. It's a good remedy for most anything, isn't it?"

"It sure is, dude," he replied. "It sure is."

_The End_

**I feel I need to apologise if I butchered Lithuania's character. I haven't written for him before but I wanted to try and challenge myself to do so. Also to anyone who is wondering why I chose Lithuania, it's because I really loved the chemistry between him and America in Episode 20, which inspired me to re-create that here. No I do not ship them but I do find their relationship to be really adorable! **

**I will be honest I was actually very scared to post this fic because again, I realise this is still a sensitive topic and I don't wish to make people further upset, but I wanted to write something regarding this tragic day. This day is also personal to me because my father was in the Pentagon when the plane crashed into it, but thankfully, was in the other part of the building and survived. I was only a year old at the time. Yes, I might have been lucky, but I know many people that day were not. **

**This is dedicated to everyone and anyone who lost their lives in the 9/11 attacks. My heart goes out to the victims and their families. **

**Thank you very much for reading. **


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